Refrigerator with a top ice box



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 24, 1950 c. J. WAGNER REFRIGERATOR WITH A TOP ICE Box Filed July 15, 194e ATTORNEYS nl. ...ci

Jan- 24, l950 c. J. WAGNER Y REFRIGERATOR WITH A 'ropv ICE Box 2 Sheets-Sheet .2

Filed July 15, 1946 FIG. 3.

FIGA.

-INVENTOR.

CARL J,WAGNER ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 24, 1950 UN-I'TED CE e y y2,4%457 l .REFnIGERAToRlWITH-AfrorfloEiBoX `4can Wagner-,incalliti Mich.

V 'I y-Applicatiotri:July 15,,1946yA SeriaLNo. 683,585 v erator is rprovided with an electric .power me-I` -chanical :refrigerating unit Yand .alsooprovi'des space for Jthe reception of a l"block of ice when power is. not avai-lablelfor the electric motor.

kr'It is -an object of the `present 'invention'to' K provide an increased vc'ircilation.of-air through the cooling compartmentv of arefrgerator. It is a further object ofthepresen't invention toprevent a secondary circulation. of air' limited toy the food storage compartmentlfra refrigerator. llt is a vfurther .object of prevent 'condensation .on 4.tl-ie upper fwallr .of a food storage compartment yland consequent dripping of moisture .on those articles stored in 'the -food storage compartment. llt fis .a y*iurther object of the present invention ltoprovide for increased eiiciency of .air 'flow 4in ,la refrigeratonhaving a mechanical refrigerating unit and-having spaceiorthe. reception of a`b1ock of ice. c f

'It `is a feature ofthe present inventiontolprovide a refrigerator having an inclined air "'ow controllingpartition separating theinterior of the Yrefrigeratorlinto anlupper cooling compartment anda lower food storage compartmentthe upper an'd lower edges of l said "partition being spaced from the )adjacent inner Walls of the refrigerator; It is a further' feature ofi the present invention 'tocprovide an inclined airflow rcontrolling partition of"'the `typelreferred to above, in "which Vthe partition is' insulated to maintain its lower surface atsubstantially the same temperature `vas the other' 'walls of the food 'storage compartment;

It is a further feature of 'thejpresen't invention to 4 provide an inclined a'irllow lcontrolling; partition in a refrigerator 'adapted to divide 'the interior thereof into Aan 'upper cooling compart` ,ment and a lower food storage compartmentl Vin which a mechanical 'prefr'igerating .unit is positioned at one side ofi-the cooling compartment and means lare provided -for alternatively supporting a 'block of ice'at'the othenside-of'the cooling compartment, the partition`beingl in? clined 'downwardlyzand inwardly "from its lateral edges.

Other objects land 'features yof the invention f.

will'become apparent as the description proceeds,

especially when'ftakenin conjunction with'theL accompanying drawingawherein:

Figure v1`is`a`iront elevation f arefrigerator the present yinvention 'to the ice.

embodying "fthe @present 'invention in which`thel55 "Figure -5 .is Vazfragnrenta'rysectionon the line "Figure 6 iis a v'fragmentary section'v on the line 6-6 oFigure /3 lookingi in the 'planel *ofl the partition; and

"Figure '7 is a fragmentary transverse section ofthepartitionmernber. y

'Referring flrst .to "the 'complete `"assembly villustra'te'd" infFigures .1,'2 `and 3,' there is illustrated a refrigerator |0 having Va cabinet "providing Ua lower "spacefl'l Lfor *the recepion of 'an electric motor "andi'operatin'g parts of 'a mechanical -re` frigerator. *The cabinet' provides "a box-like spacev ndicatedgenerally atf1'2 which vis'separated by'an irrclinedypartition f3 'into-an upper cooling com- I partment 'I 4 anda lower iood'storage compartment'li. "The lower :food `storage compartment f5 :is 'provided "with A4the usual l'horizontal supporting' shelves i 6 `'and inl addition there 'is provideda `drainp'ipel passing' through the lower wallofthe'food"storage-'compartment I-5 for the purposeof 'carrying awaywater^resulting from `thenrelting"of'cewhen'ice is employed inthe cooling-compartment.

"For iclearnessin' these views "the Adoor ofthe boxllike spacelZ 'hasloeen'omittei lout it will be understood"thatthisfdoorcomprises the `usual heavily :insulated J'door employed 'with present dayrefrigerators.

'Asbestseen 'in'.Figure 1, the 'upper cooling compartment :I4 iaproVided'with an evaporator housing '.ll`8 "which 'may be Vof conventional de-y sign and'w'illoprovide spacefor ice cbe trays..

The gevaporator v'housing as; illustrated isl located atonesideof the cooling compartment and leaves a substantial spacein-thev other Vside .thereof 'for thefr'eception of a v'lolock .of ice indicated in dotted'lines ata'lB. yAhorizontal.ice supporting slilf .I'9 is provided 'and/'is shown as formedfof wire elements so nas'to vexpose all `sidesof the iceto .the air'inthe ncooling compartment Pfor the purpose of lincreasinglthe cooling effect of "The l'nclined A-partition '.I`3 .serves a .plurality of '.'functions landi is especially designed to .improve fthe efficiency with which lthese nfunctions arecarriedout. fAsbestseenfiniFigures 4 and designated 23, as best seen in Figure 4. In addf tion, the lower edge of the partition I3 is provided with a. spoutl 24 at its central portion'and the rear edge of the partition is provided with a raised bead 25 at either side of the spout 24 to restrict the flow of water to the spout 24. As indicated in Figures 4 and 7, the bead extends completely around the partition I3. It will be understood that the spout 24 overlies the upper end of the drain pipe I'I so that water formed by the melting of the ice is caused to flow out of the refrigerator through the drain pipe.

The partition I3 is supported from the inner walls of the refrigerator by means of screws 26, as best seen in Figure 4, the upper plate 2D having down turned flanges at the sides of the partition, as best seen in Figure 7, these flanges being provided with slots indicated at 2! to be engaged over the screws 2S. This assembly provides for ready removal of the partition when desired.

Extending forwardly from the rear wall of the cooling compartment is an apron 30. The apron 30 may extend completely across the back of the refrigerator, but at all events it extends completely across that portion thereof which is adapted to receive a block of ice. The forward edge of the apron 30 overlies the rear edge of the partition I3 so that water intercepted by the apron 3|] drops olf its forward edge onto the partition I3 adjacent its rear edge.

As best seen in Figure 2, the partition I3 is mounted in the refrigerator so that it is inclined downwardly and rearwardly at a substantial angle. This angle may be between 5 and 10 and is preferably in the neighborhood of 7 from the horizontal. This inclination of the partition I3 serves a dual purpose. In the first place, it provides for flow of water deposited therein from melting ice toward the rear end where it passes over the spout 24 and hence out the drain pipe I1.

More important, however, is its function in controlling the flow of air in the refrigerator. Cooled air is caused to flow by the inclination of the partition downwardly at the rear of the refrigerator and upwardly at the front thereof, as indicated by arrows in Figure 2. The front and rear edges of the partition I3 are spaced a substantial distance from the inner surface of the door and from the inner surface of the back wall of the refrigerator, respectively, so as to permit a substantial flow of air through the spaces defined thereby.

By providing substantial insulation between the upper and lower surfaces of the partition I3 two importantY additional advantages are achieved. In the rst place, the provision of this insulation maintains the lower surface of the partition I3 at substantially the same temperature as the other walls of the food storage compartment. It will be appreciated that in the absence of such insulation the upper wall of the food storage compartment would be maintained at a relatively lower temperature, either by direct conduction from the cooler air in the cooling compartment or by dropping of water resulting from melting ice thereon. This would have the effect of providin-g a surface at the top of the food storage compartment on which moisture would tend to condense and the condensate would then drip downwardly upon food in the food storage compartment, since the temperature of the partition would not be suilciently low to freeze the moisture --deposited thereon. This undesirable eifect is completely avoided by the provision of the substantial insulation referred to.

A secondary undesirable effect is also avoided v by the provision of the insulation which maintains the lower surface of the partition I3 at sub.. stantially the same temperature as the other walls of the food storage compartment. This second- Y ary undesirable effect which is avoided is a restricted circulation of air within the food storage compartment itself. It will be appreciated that if the lower surface of the partition I3 were relatively Ycolder than the other walls of the food storage compartment, air passing downwardly at the rear of the food storage compartment would then circulate upwardly at the front of the icebox and certain of this air would strike the lower surface of the partition and would thereby bev cooled and would set up a restricted circulation in the food storage compartment so that the amount of air `passing upwardly from the food storage compartment to the cooling compartment would be seriously reduced.

It was previously mentioned that the partitionV I3 is shaped so thatA its upper surface is inclined downwardly from the side edges thereof toward the center thereof. This causes the water dripping from the melting ice to flow to the center vthereof and thence out the spout 24. It also has a further advantage in that it tends to distribute cool air, as will now be pointed out. It was stated at the outset that the cooling compartment was provided with a mechanical refrigerating unit or ice cooling means as circumstances required. The

arrangement is such that when the mechanical refrigerating unit is in use the cooling effect thereof is located at one side of the cooling compartment. In like manner, when ice is relied upon for cooling, the cooling thereof is effective only in the other side of the cooling compartment. By providing a partition which inclines downwardly from its side edges, air which is cooled by either of the cooling agencies alternatively employed is directed noi-l only toward the rear of the icebox but also toward the central portion thereof.

It will be appreciated that the provision of theV ondary circulation solely within the food storage compartment.

It will therefore be seen that the present construction provides a very efficient combination ice and mechanical refrigerator in which the cooling effect ofthe particular cooling agency em ployed is substantially augmented by the controlled flow of air in the refrigerator.

While I have illustrated and described a pari ticular embodiment of my improved combination lice and mechanical refrigerator, it will be understood that this has been done solely to enable those skilled in the art to ypractice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A combination ice mechanical refrigerator comprising a box having an open front, a door closing said open front, a cooling compartment at the top of said box, a mechanical cooling unit at one side of said compartment, a member for supporting ice at the other side of said compartment, air flow controlling means dividing the interior of said box into said cooling compartment and a lower food storage compartment comprising a `plate spaced from the rear wall 0f said box and the door thereof, said plate being transversely inclined downwardly and inwardly from the side edges thereof to direct downwardly moving cold air from either side of said cooling compartment toward the center of the box, said plate being downwardly and rearwardly inclined from the front edge thereof to direct cooled air rearwardly of the box, and a ledge extending forwardly from the rear wall of said box at the bottom of said cooling compartment effective to direct downwardly moving cold air from said cooling compartment onto said plate.

2. A combination ice mechanical refrigerator comprising a box having an open front, a door closing said open front, a cooling compartment at the top -of said box, a mechanical cooling unit at vone side of said compartment, a member for supporting ice at the other side of said compartment, air ow controlling means dividing the interior of said box into said cooling compartment and a lower food storage compartment comprising a plate spaced from the rear wall of said box and the door thereof, said plate being transversely inclined downwardly and inwardly from the side edges thereof to direct downwardly moving cold air from either side of said cooling compartment toward the center of the box, said plate being downwardly and rearwardly inclined from the front edge thereof to direct cooled air rearwardly of the box, and a ledge extending forwardly from the rear wall of said box at the bottom of said cooling compartment effective to direct downwardly moving cold air from said cooling compartment onto said plate, said plate serving also as a drip pan and having a pouring spout at its rear edge centrally thereof.

3. A combination ice mechanical refrigerator comprising a box having an open front, a door closing said open front, a cooling compartment at the top -of said box, a mechanical cooling unit at one side of said compartment, a member for supporting ice at the other air ow controlling means dividing the interior of said box into said cooling compartment and a lower food storage compartment comprising a plate spaced from the rear wall of said box and the door thereof, said plate being transversely inclined downwardly and inwardly from the side edges thereof to direct downwardly moving cold air from either side of said cooling compartment toward the center of the box, said plate being downwardly and rearwardly inclined from the front edge thereof to direct cooled air rearwardly of the box, and a ledge extending forwardly from the rear wall of said box at the bottom of said cooling compartment effective to direct downwardly moving cold air from said cooling compartment onto said plate, said plate serving also as a drip pan and having a pouring spout at its rear edge centrally thereof and a drain pipe located to receive water from melted ice below said spout.

CARL J. WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 258,752 Harrer May 30, 1882 1,757,391 Ryder May 6, 1930 2,132,602 v Belshaw Oct. 11, 1938 2,136,615 Hokanson Nov. 15, 1938 2,156,201 Snipes Apr. 25, 1939 2,207,333 Perham July 9, 1940 2,225,924 Nemec Dec. 24, 1940 2,238,284 Pedigo Apr. 15, 1941 side of said compartment, 

